1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electrical connectors and more particularly to a device for organization, guidance and retention of electrical connector wafers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, electrical connectors have utilized rectangular shaped connector wafers, the wafers being terminated to flat conductor cable or to individual round wires, wherein the wafers contained a multiple of electrical contacts in a straight line array. These wafers are brought together in a connector housing which is generally of rectangular crosssection having parallel transverse faces joined at perpendicular sides. A wafer is inserted therein in an axial direction to form a connector half assembly. The wafer is typically a flat, rigid plastic insert with contacts assembled or molded therein. The contacts may be either pins or sockets extending in the axial direction. A typical connector arrangement is disclosed in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 3,993,394, incorporated herein by reference. Such a connector is useful for interconnecting organized wiring systems wherein the relationship of the wafers to each other is fixed and nonvariable.
In complex wiring arrangements such as those present in modern aircraft, centralized connection points having a grid or network of electrical connections are highly desirable. These connection points are commonly called interface units. These units contain a plurality of contacts, the location of each contact being associated with a function of a device in the aircraft. It is highly desirable to removably and variably interconnect conductor wafers with such an interface unit in a variable fashion without having to rewire the individual conductors associated with the conductor wafers. This invention is a device which provides for the guidance and retention of rectangular shaped connector wafers, terminated to flat conductor cable or to individual round wires, the wafers containing a multiple of electrical contacts in a straight line array. The device incorporates wafer retention members which are releasably secured in a housing of appropriate design. The device allows one to easily organize in one or more rows an otherwise disorganized, labor-intensive wiring scheme typical in today's commercial or military aircraft.